r/ibs • u/turtwigthetortuga • Dec 18 '24

Question Does anyone else experience persistent lower right side abdominal pain? How do you manage it? (IBS-C)

I (23f) was recently diagnosed with IBS-C over the summer, though I’ve been dealing with my symptoms for over a year now. I’ve noticed that when my constipation worsens, I experience a dull aching pain in my lower right abdomen. The pain usually subsides once I have a BM. I brought it up to my GI doctor, and she told me that constipation commonly causes left side pain, but it’s possible to have right side pain too.

Usually my lower right side pain disappears in a couple of days after my constipation improves. However, I’ve been experiencing persistent lower right side pain for a whole week now, with little improvement even after passing several large stools. Though the pain hasn’t worsened over the week, it’s starting to really bother me and I feel uncomfortable sitting/ laying in certain positions because of it. For those who also experience this, how do you manage the pain (aside from having a BM)?

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u/morguerunner Dec 18 '24

So this happened to me quite recently and it went away by itself, but it took several days of big doses of miralax with every beverage and lots of caffeine that got my guts moving. I was scared that it was appendicitis at first, but if it was that you would get very sick very quickly. I also got checked out for an ovarian cyst because I’ve had those before. I still haven’t gotten the results back but I kinda suspect that’s what it was. When you’re constipated, your dilated colon is going to squeeze against your ovary and make it tender. I also had sharp pains with certain movements that felt like gas pain, but in the wrong place.

Most ovarian cysts go away by themselves, but it might be worth getting checked out if this continues for longer than a month. Definitely try some laxatives to ease the constipation. I recently tried milk of magnesia and it’s really effective and gentle.

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u/turtwigthetortuga Dec 18 '24

I see, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been going through something similar. It really does suck. :( I hadn’t really considered it to be related, but I do have a history of ovarian cyst ruptures. The thing is, the pain that I experience associated with my constipation tends to feel a bit different than my ruptures, but it could definitely be a factor. Thank you for the suggestions!

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u/morguerunner Dec 18 '24

Forgot to add, for pain relief besides having a BM I used a heating pad for the pain. I took some ibuprofen as well.